The utilization of recycled materials, such as glass, metal and plastics, has been promoted over the past few decades to preserve natural resources and protect the environment, with the recycling efforts being further fostered by the hope of cost reductions in the articles produced by the recycled materials. While the economics of using recycled materials have yet to be consistently proven, the protection of our environment and preservation of our natural resources continue to favor the recycling of industrial materials and the development of new ways of incorporating those recycled materials into useful products.
The building construction industry has in recent years turned its attention to the use of recycled materials not only for environmental reasons but also in search of effective synthetic alternatives to particularly high-end natural materials, such as marble, granite, and slate as countertop, backsplash and/or flooring materials. A variety of such synthetic building materials have been developed and made in substantial part from recycled materials including rubber, glass, and thermoplastic resins. For instance, recycled glass is frequently employed and incorporated into various building products primarily as reinforcement fibers and fillers.
It would be desirable to develop a process that can reliably be used to cast articles containing recycled glass material and a polymer matrix, where the resulting articles are both environmentally friendly and sufficiently durable so as to be competitive with traditional natural materials or other composite materials used for the same purposes.